Investigating the cause(s) of the Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart) decline epidemic in Western Australian native forest.

Tuart is a magnificent woodland tree endemic to the Swan Coastal Plain of Western Australia, and is one of the few eucalypts that is adapted to calcareous soil profiles (1). Prior to European settlement there were more than 111,600 ha of tuart woodlands (2) but this has been reduced to 30,311 mostly as a result of clearing for urban development and agriculture (3). In the early 1990’s the decline of tuart woodlands in Yalgorup National Park (YNP), 1.5 hours south of Perth, became severe causing public awareness and concern. At present, the majority of the 13,000 hectares of this park is affected. A large research group was established in 2003 to investigate the cause(s) of this decline, conducting research on a range of abiotic and biotic factors, including water relations and hydrology, environmental correlates, fire and competition, mycorrhizae and nutrition, fungal pathogens and insect pests. The collaborative, integrated and adaptive approach to the research, and the latest findings of the group will be presented